Especially for the very high cost... It's the little things that start to matter at that price. Wraping and a nice finish is part of those things... Bummer too cause I might have considered it otherwise.Reply

It's teenagers or young males who think they are still that feel the need to try to impress others with visual interior effects on a PC, and even among those it is a very small # of the market. Most people's cases have a solid side panel w/o window and not only is it totally irrelevant to them whether it is black painted or sleeved, they couldn't even tell you what color their PSU is or whether it is sleeved.

Put the PC out of the way and get some art on the wall if looks are important.Reply

but many of us aren't energy tards. I don't care if my PSU gets 75% or 80% efficiency, but I do care that it isn't running near 80% of total capacity. Further, PSU reviewers have it wrong, they test as if a 500W PSU is bad if it only does 400W stable, not recognizing that running a 400W capable PSU at 200W is more desirable to many than running a 300W capable PSU at 200W output.

The wattage rating is not like a "match this to your system power usage rating", it's a MAXIMUM you are always better off to stay far far under. It is easy to overlook this in reviews because it is impossible to test for the viable lifetime of a system and by that I don't mean lifetime till the next generation of parts come along, I mean what is the first failure point and so on until repair costs more than the value of the system to its present owner, not to an enthusiast that would spend hundreds on upgrades every year or two regardless of failures.

The average computer owner with a system under 5 years old just wants it to keep working as cheaply as possible. Soon that figure will rise to 10 years, given more than double the memory and # of CPU cores installed in the average new system to mostly do the same old tasks. Plus twitter 400 bytes of text at a time.Reply

Except it really isn't remotely that simple, and if you have a system that consumes 200W max, then it will probably idle under 50 watts, and the 800 Watt power supply (which is decently efficient at 200 Watts, as that's within the powerband 80Plus optimises for), will be ridiculously inefficient at 50, especially compared to a 300W powersupply where 50W is close to the optimised powerband.

And if you're thinking you don't care about efficiency.. let me ask you *why* think running a power supply under the rated wattage is a good thing. The only thing I can think of that leads to your purported better endurance is less heat in the power supply, if you're not running at max.

That, too, is no longer as simple as that. A less efficient power supply (like one running way under its rating) will be less efficient at idle loads and thus generate more heat. Its cooling system is never full-on at these low temperatures. It's entirely possible for an 850 watt power supply to be hotter, and last less long, than a 300 watt power supply, when they are both driving the same 50 to 200 watt system.Reply

My apologies... Martin isn't a native English speaker, so he writes his review and then I go through and try to correct the grammar and/or spelling errors. Since I did the editing/corrections in our CMS rather than Word, spellcheck isn't readily available. I've made another pass and tried to catch any remaining typos, but if you want to point out other errors I'll be happy to correct them.

When you're reading/typing/editing, unless you're being very methodical words like "acheivement" and "achievement" read the same. It's like the email that went around a few years ago:

------------------Mipellssed Wdors

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?------------------Reply

My take on that is that our brain looks for patterns rather than just reading first and the last word - Mipellssed - the "M", "pe", "ll", "ed", "ss" all sort of trigger our brain to recall words that are similar and replace the misspelled version - it just so happens so fast that we think our brain reads it like so but that's not the case.Reply

The CMS has spell checking, but you have to manually select it and it's sort of half-baked. You don't get underlined words as you type, and Firefox's built-in spell checking doesn't work because it's not just a textbox... some sort of rich text editing box with images and such (not sure if it's Java or what). Anyway, I switched to the source HTML view (which is a regular text box), but Season is spelled correctly so I still missed that one. I'll go edit it again. :-)Reply

I always look at Huntkey with caution as it once reportedly tried to bribe Hardware Secrets to make a favorable review. I hope huntkey produces good PSUs hereafter rather than trying to fool people.Reply

A near 0% failure rate among hundreds of PCs in my organization. These are Optiplexes with 80Plus certified PSUs stipulated in our contract. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these Huntkeys are in these machines.

It's a different universe on the Inspiron side which you sound familiar with. Like most things in life, you get what you pay for.Reply

Yeah, Dell isn't without their problem computers in the business world (I supported some old GX150 systems back in 2003-2006 that had a bit of problem in the memory subsystem that would make Photoshop crash the PC all the time), but by and large the Optiplex and Latitude line is very reliable compared to consumer systems.Reply

I don't know. We have a handful of Latitudes here and every single one of them have serious IO issues. The Windows logon sound is choppy, the mouse pointer freezes constantly then plays instant catch-up; typing is the same. We've turned off the page file (4GB RAM, W7x64), tuned the hdd settings, tried readyboost--nothing fixes this.

But we could compare anecdotes all day. The OP also mention ethical reason, and the public record for Dell's underhanded dealings is long and detailed. I too will be steering clear of everything Dell for a long time to come.

I suppose the main reason capacity is an issue is due to the efficiency curve of a PSU. With loads optimized for 20, 50, and 100 percent, a 35w idle system is more inefficient with a higher capacity PSU. But not all PSUs have problems at less than 10%; the Seasonic X-650 is 88% efficient at a 60w load. The flip side is 35w idle system won't waste much even at an abysmal 70%. So while I welcome more reasonable options in the >500w watt space, especially excellent units like the Huntkey, I'm not sure dramatically over powered units are as huge of an issue as it used to be. Still, I think it's ridiculous that there aren't more 350 to 500 watt units that are of a high level in terms of efficiency and quality. I would certainly pay a premium for a higher end unit, regardless of capacity.

Even though I would have bought something like this instead of what I bought recently, traditionally low wattage high quality units have a really difficult time gaining traction. Sales are usually really slow on these kinds of units.

Like it or not most people don't read reviews or know (or care) that PSUs are low efficiency at low load, and see that they can get a 550-650W 80+ gold unit for only a few bucks more and go for double the power for the headroom.

Also doesn't help that video card MFRs put PSU requirements that are totally absurd (HD5770 "requires" a 450W PSU... yeah, don't tell that to mine hooked up to a 380W PSU and running fine.)

Ultimately, making an 80+ gold PSU costs money and the unit will be expensive.This seems to have efficiency at low load that rivals the PicoPSUs and is a lot less hassle and more headroom if someone's using a case that can accommodate a full size PSU. Probably not too much different in price from a Pico either. From that standpoint it's an interesting PSU. Lets hope it sells enough to keep a couple units like this on the market for a while.Reply

I think you are 100% right, Seasonic used to make a 330 watt S12, the lowest version available now is 380 watts.

Even if they know their system will only draw 200 - 250 watts max the average buyer would rather have a 500 watt PSU of mediocre quality than a high quality 300 - 350 watt PSU. And most users don't have any real idea of how much power they need or are just going my what is recommended on the box which is always some crazy inflated number when you are talking about graphics cards.

As to the unit itself I prefer the played down looks of the American version. And it dose look like an awesome PSU but $90 is a lot when I can get an 300 watt 80+ OEM Seasonic for $40.Reply

I just checked my local pricewatch, there's a Jumper 550 in there for 60 euro (which contrary to popular belief means 60 dollars, despite the exchange rate). The 550 is a different animal, it has hex grates on the end, but companies generally don't price the 300W low end model above the 550W near-top-end model in a given (Jumper) product range.Reply

When and where do you guys think this will be available for purchase? This is definitely the front-runner on my PSU shortlist for my upcoming sandybridge build. I was going to go for the SS X400 but 400W is overkill considering I plan to use the IGP, and it's also quite expensive.

This is exactly the kind of PSU most of us want. I'd personally like a 400w unit of the same quality for <$130 since I run a high-end video card, but for everything else this 300w unit is just about perfect. It is a bummer about the American version not having the sleeving and black paint job, but it's still a great PSU!Reply

Maybe HuntKey will add sleeving for the final edition and has found a distributor in the USA. I've just heard they start to ship this PSU to France now. For about 60-65 €uro. Hope we get more informations soon. Reply

Why can't Anandtech ever run PSUs that normal people use? No one cares about these low-power pieces of junk!

/end sarcasm

(To those who don't get it, this is a jab at all those posters who whine and cry when Anandtech runs articles on high-powered PSUs and make the same kind of comment. Anyone who has read more than one PSU article on Anandtech knows they do high quality reviews of PSUs that are across the board in power rating and usefulness to people who buy them, or just want to know more about them. Hats off and /bow to Martin for once again giving us something interesting and informative.)

Last 9months i have heard more and more friends with PSU problems.Most of their PSU's are about 2-5years old and they either die on some "rails" or completely.Most of them has been used for servers, on 24/7 etc..

One thing im wondering about is how long should we expect to get a PSU to run?Can we expect 24/7 for 5years or 2years?The parameter is not that popular since it is hard to test, the users that are driving the enhancements are considered mostly to be gamers, and they like power and efficiency more then MBTF.

Another factor is how does the PSU preform with under or over voltage?And ofc how it handles spikes, and other "dirt" in the wires. Which is more common then most users know.(one reason why i use a UPS to my equipment.)

Also it would be interesting if you can test with 220V AC since that is a common standard and it does affect the performance and operation of the PSU.Reply

I know what you mean. AC stress is a problem as well as a good way to test power supplies. In fact it is usually easier for a PSU to handle DC loads than transients. Nevertheless it is indispensable to have an AC source with a clean output for better comparability in all tests. Later that year, I hope the AC side gets more attention after adding some components.

24/7 ist basically no problem for a PSU but the lifetime depends on many factors. capacitor aging is a problem, EMI immission is, temperatures are. In my opinion servers should get other PSUs than usual PCs. The letter will usually be changed after 2 or 3 years, so voltage/ripple/EMI during a relative short time is more important than endurance (which includes "long life" capacitors). Some older PSUs died in my PCs after a year or two, but I'm sure the quality is better today if you buy known brands. Specially brands who have to make sure, that the PSU works 5 years because of their warranty program. But that's no guarantee for all products. We aren't able to make long time tests over a year, even manufacturers can't do that. Their "long time" tests take a week and the rest is just math.Reply

>One thing im wondering about is how long should we expect to get a PSU to run?

The capacitors define the lifetime of a quality power supply. They are rated for a certain number of years at a given temp. Typical numbers are 3 and 5 years as you go up the price ladder. Unless there is a bad batch (it happens), quality Japanese capacitors can be counted on to last their rated lifetime.

For very low end PSU's (and there are a lot of them out there), besides the capacitors it is components being run over-spec that will define the lifetime (burn out first). For example a 400W rated power supply made up of 250W level components will have one life expectancy at 150W and another at 250W. You can read some recent reviews of such power supplies over on Hardware Secrets.

The warranty is supposed to give you some idea of what to expect, but not really. Seasonic's lowest end series have a 1 year warranty but you can expect them to be useful much longer. Diablotek offers 3 years on some of theirs, but recent published reviews cast doubt on their lifetime if used at their rated capacity.Reply

After seeing Gabriel blow up many overrated Huntkey pieces of dung, I'm leery of the brand, but this is the sort of PSU I'd like to see more often. I've built a couple of project PCs to test various ideas, and a PSU like this would be perfect for a mini-ITX gamer, running a HD5770 or GTX460. I'd be worried about ventilation with a fanless PSU in that application, but this would be good. Hopefully they'll do a modular version.

The reason GPU manufacturers list outrageously high minimum wattages is they are trying to account for all the Chokemax PSUs out there that can barely manage 60% of what's on their labels.

With the 80+ Bronze EA-380D at $45, this can't cost any more than $60 if Huntkey expects it to sell. In this wattage range, an efficiency difference of even 10% doesn't amount to all that much.Reply